The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we witnessed Ashwatthama getting to know of the plot behind his father’s unfortunate demise on the Kurukshetra battlefield. This happens on the fifteenth day wherein Guru Dhronachaarya has been tricked into a “lie” that Ashwatthama has been killed. Upon “confirmation” from Yudishtra, Guru Dhronachaarya was killed by Drishtadhyumna by chopping off his head. However, Ashwatthama who is actually alive, comes to know of his father’s demise and vows to avenge this plot. He immediately rushes towards the place where Yudishtra and his Paandava brothers are standing and employs the “Narayana-Asthram” towards all of them. This “Narayana-Asthram” is so powerful that it doesn’t have any counter to neutralize it. As the “Asthram” is coming towards the Paandava brothers, it diversifies itself into several arrows, several other “Asthras”, several weapons, several poisonous animals, etc. As Arjuna is trembling with fear, he asks Bhagawan Krishna for a solution. He also explains to Bhagawan Krishna that Guru Dhronachaarya has taught him several “Asthras” with counters to neutralize them. However, when it came to the “Narayana-Asthra”, he never taught how to neutralize it. For this, Bhagawan Krishna laughingly replies that Guru Dhronachaarya did not teach the counter to this “Narayana Asthram” because there is none! So Bhagawan Krishna also agrees to Arjuna’s words that the “Narayana-Asthram” has no solution and all of them have to sacrifice their lives for it! 

As Bhagawan Krishna jokingly says thus, Arjuna asks – “Oh Krishna! Is this the purpose for which we’ve been struggling for the last fifteen days? If this “Narayana-Asthram” is going to kill all of us, there was no point in fighting the war itself, isn’t it?” For this, Bhagawan Krishna is going to give a very important reply here. He says thus, “Oh Arjuna! Oh Yudishtra! Oh Bheemasena! Oh Nakula and Sahadeva! Please get down from your chariots, remove your protective shields from your bodies, throw them away into your chariots and stand on the ground without any weapon in hand! Bow down in front of the incoming “Narayana Asthram” with folded hands!” There is a big message behind this – If someone is standing in the chariot with all weapons in hand and with the protective shield over him, the “Narayana-Asthram” will destroy him. However, if the person stands on the ground, sans any weapon and protective shield, the “Asthram” will not harm him even an inch! 

This is beautifully brought out in the work of Swami Vedanta Desika called “Anjali Vaibhavam”. If we fold our hands and bring our palms together and stand in front of Bhagawan, it is called “Anjali”. This signifies complete surrender to Bhagawan. So Swami Desika says thus, “For all the “Paapa Karma” that we’re doing every passing day, Bhagawan will come racing towards us to give a befitting punishment! However, if we exhibit “Anjali Vaibhavam” (Standing with folded hands and palms) in front of an angry Bhagawan, His tension would automatically come down! The thought that He has to punish us for our sinful acts will vanish away! This is exactly what Vibhishana did in front of Bhagawan Rama. We’ve seen this during our earlier “Shrimad Ramayana” project – Upon learning Bhagawan Rama’s advancement towards Lanka for punishing Ravana and Co. Vibhishana decides that he would go in front of Bhagawan Rama and seek unconditional apology with the “Anjali Vaibhavam”. However, when Vibhishana arrives at Rameshwaram where Bhagawan Rama and Lakshmana are sitting along with all the Vaanaras, Sugriva quickly informs Bhagawan Rama that Vibhishana is coming here to kill all of them single-handedly. All of us know that Vibhishana is a Raakshasa. However, if he comes with folded hands and folded palms, someone has mentioned the secret behind Bhagawan Rama’s “Kalyana Gunas”, wherein He will accept anyone who comes with this “Bhaavam” unconditionally! Thus, as Vibhishana comes with the “Anjali Vaibhavam”, Bhagawan Rama unconditionally accepts him as one amongst all of them! Similarly here also, when the “Narayana-Asthram” is advancing towards the Paandava brothers, Bhagawan Krishna asks them to step down from the chariot and stand with folded hands, sans any weapon! 

So for today, let us understand the significance of the “Anjali Vaibhavam” and in the next episode, we shall witness whether the Paandava brothers obeyed Bhagawan Krishna’s advice or not! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Drishtadhyumna killing Guru Dhronachaarya by chopping off his head. This happens during the fifteenth day of the Kurukshetra war wherein Bheemasena proclaims Ashwatthama’s demise in front of Guru Dhronachaarya. However, the Ashwatthama that Bheemasena killed was an elephant and not Guru Dhronachaarya’s son. This was a clear ploy to put Guru Dhronachaarya on the backfoot and he had to succumb to it. As Guru Dhronachaarya wants to confirm Bheemasena’s words with Yudishtra, Bhagawan Krishna signals Yudishtra to establish that it was really Guru Dhronachaarya’s son who had been killed. Thus, Yudishtra utters the phrase “Ashwatthama hataha! Kunjaraha!” and while uttering the “Kunjaraha” (Elephant) Shabdha, Yudishtra lowers his tone a bit so that Guru Dhronachaarya doesn’t hear it. As these words come from Yudishtra, Guru Dhronachaarya sits down on his chariot after putting his weapons down. This is the time for which Drishtadhyumna was waiting for all these years. He immediately takes his sword and rushes towards Guru Dhronachaarya and chops his head off! With this, Guru Dhronachaarya falls on the ground, dead! 

Meanwhile, as Drishtadhyumna is about to chop off Guru Dhronachaarya’s head, Guru Dhronachaarya’s “Atman” makes its way out of his body and travels to the “Svarga Lokha”. This is now being narrated by Sanjaya to King Dhritarashtra. Sanjaya says thus, Oh King! The great Guru Dhronachaarya is no more! However, I’ve seen it with my own two eyes, the place where his “Atman” has travelled! Guru Dhronachaarya is safe and he has reached rightly where he has to reach! So we do not need to worry about him any more!” This incident sends shockwaves across the Kaurava camp and King Dhritarashtra is fuming with anger over what has just happened at the Kurukshetra battlefield! 

Thus, with this sad incident, we come to the end of the “Dhrona Vadha Parva” under the main “Dhrona Parva”. Now we come to the last Upa-Parva under the “Dhrona Parva”, which is called “Narayana Asthra Mokhsa Parva”. Now we come to one of the most crucial stages of the fifteenth day at Kurukshetra – Ashwatthaama, the son of Guru Dhronachaarya, fumes with anger upon hearing about the demise of his father! Moreover, when Duryodhana explains to him as to what had happened, Ashwatthama’s anger knows no bounds! He couldn’t believe his ears that Guru Dhronachaarya was tricked into such a malicious and an “unethical” situation by the Paandava camp to finish him off. Now he takes a pledge thus, “Oh Duryodhana! It is extremely shocking and shameful that Yudishtra had behaved in this way to corner my father and kill him. For this unethical and a heinous crime that he had committed, I shall now employ the “Narayana Asthra” which I have with me and kill all the Paandava brothers within minutes! Their demise will only be with my hands and not anybody else’s. I shall make sure that Yudishtra pays a heavy price for the crime that he has committed towards my father!” 

Saying thus, Ashwatthama once again enters the battlefield with a renewed rigour! He is in a savage resolution to take on the Paandava brothers and to brutally assault them. As he comes face to face with the Paandava brothers, Ashwatthama goes ahead, takes the bow in his hand, takes the arrow, locks it and chants the “Narayana Asthra” Mantra to it. He thinks within himself thus, “Oh! If it is true that I have an unending devotion towards my father, and if it is true that I respect Bhagawan Narayana, let this Asthra go and destroy all the Paandava brothers instantly! With this, my father’s “Atman” will rest in peace!” With this, Ashwatthama releases the arrow from his bow and the “Narayana Asthram” starts travelling in the air towards the Paandava brothers. As it travels, it multiplies into several arrows, several “Gadhas”, several dangerous and poisonous animals, etc. As the “Asthra” travels like this in the air, Arjuna is extremely worried! He says to Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Bhagawan! When I was learning my lessons during my childhood, Guru Dhronachaarya had taught me several “Asthras” and how to counter them effectively. For the “Vaaruna Asthram” the “Aagneya Asthram” is the counter. For the “Indra-Asthram” it is the “Brahma-Asthram”. The list goes on. However, for this “Narayana-Asthram”, Guru Dhronachaarya never taught me the counter “Asthram”!” 

As Arjuna says this, Bhagawan Krishna laughs and asks back thus, “Oh Arjuna! Till now you’ve listened to the 700 shlokas of the Bhagawad Gita, haven’t you? What did you understand? Tell me!” Arjuna says thus, “Oh yes! I listened to everything! You are the supreme Bhagawan for this entire world. The world obeys your orders only and all things happen as per your command!” Upon hearing this, Bhagawan replies back – “Oh Arjuna! Now do you understand why Guru Dhronachaarya did not teach you the counter for this “Narayana-Asthram”? Just like how I’m the supreme Bhagawan for this world and how nobody can kill me, this “Narayana-Asthram” also is the same! Nobody can counter it and in fact, there is no counter to this at all! You will be destroyed completely with this now!” As Bhagawan says thus, Arjuna starts trembling with fear! He asks Bhagawan thus, “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! So is everything over with this one “Asthra”? Is this why we were fighting this war for the past 15 days?” Bhagawan laughs at Arjuna once again and says thus, “Oh my dear Arjuna! You’re not understanding my point fully! I never said that this is going to be the end of everything! Now do what I say and do not talk against my words!” 

So for today, let us understand up to this point. This is a critical moment wherein Ashwatthama’s Narayana-Asthram is travelling towards the Paandava brothers, even as they are clueless to escape from it! So what is going to happen next? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂

We’re at an extremely crucial juncture wherein Yudishtra has uttered an important set of words, which contained truth, but was projected to be a lie! Guru Dhronachaarya comes towards Yudishtra to confirm the news about his son, Ashwatthama and Yudishtra replies that Ashwatthama has died – In a loud tone, but when he says “But Ashwatthama is the name of an elephant”, his voice is drowned by the loud sounds of the “Shankams” that start blowing from all directions from the Paandava camp! Thus, Guru Dhronachaarya was able to hear only the “Shabdhams” that Ashwatthama has been killed. But failed to hear the elephant “Shabdha”. This breaks Guru Dhronachaarya’s heart – Once and for all! He comes to a conclusion that there’s no point in fighting this war any further after the demise of his son! For whom is he going to live this life anymore, if his son is dead? Thinking thus, Guru Dhronachaarya’s body starts trembling! His hands and legs start giving up! However, he still continues with the meak fighting against whoever comes in front of him. 

As this is happening, moving on further, Bheemasena comes forward and utters something important. He says thus, “Oh Guru Dhronachaarya! You should be ashamed! Your son is dead and you’re still fighting against us! Are you a real Brahmana? Normally, a Brahmana is characterized by a greater extent of attachment towards the son / daughter. Whereas, you do not seem to have this characteristic at all in you! You’re fighting as if you are a “Kshatrya”! You had said that you will put down your weapons when your son is no more! But now you are continuing to fight! This defies all logic! If you’re defying your “Varnaashrama Dharma”, do you know what “Naraka Lokha” you will go into? You are fighting as if you’re a Kshatrya! This is completely absurd! Oh Guru Dhronachaarya! For whom you were fighting all this while – This person is no more now! If Ashwatthaama is not alive, what is the reason for your presence in this battlefield any further?” 

As Bheemasena asks such bitter questions repeatedly, Guru Dhronachaarya starts feeling that his heart is going to break anytime! These words of Bheemasena add insult and injury to the already existing wound of losing his son! Thus, reluctantly all the weapons that Guru Dhronachaarya is holding in his hands start falling down one after the other. His strong bow that he holds confidently slowly falls down on the ground! His arrows and “Asthras” fall down one by one and finally Guru Dhronachaarya stands in the middle of the battlefield sans any weapon in hand! This is exactly the time which Drishtadhyumna is waiting for! Readers might remember – Drishtadhyumna (Yaagnyasena) is the son of King Drupada and the very purpose of his birth is to kill Guru Dhronachaarya. We’ve witnessed earlier that Drishtadhyumna came out of the “Yagnya” that King Drupada performed exclusively for this purpose, because King Drupada wasn’t able to defeat Guru Dhronachaarya by himself on the battlefield. Now, Drishtadhyumna senses the opportunity to fulfil his purpose of birth! 

Thus, as Drishtadhyumna gets ready, Guru Dhronachaarya sits in his chariot itself and starts meditating! He goes into a deeper “Yogam” and now Drishtadhyumna takes the sword in his hand. He rushes towards Guru Dhronachaarya, catches hold of his hair and chops off his head! Guru Dhronachaarya falls on the ground, dead! Upon seeing this ghastly incident, Arjuna shrieks out in intense anger and frustration! However, even before Drishtadhyumna could chop off his head, Guru Dhronachaarya’s “Atman” started off its journey from his “Deham”, all the way to the “Svarga Lokham”. It is just Guru Dhronachaarya’s body that Drishtadhyumna was able to kill! As Guru Dhronachaarya’s head came out of his body, blood started to flow all over the ground and Drishtadhyumna carried his head all the way and dropped it in front of Duryodhana & Co.! What a ghastly sight this could be for Duryodhana and Co.! 

So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue further in the next episode! Stay tuned!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Guru Dhronachaarya being at the brink of something extremely unusual in his entire lifetime. He has obtained news that his son Ashwatthama is killed amidst the battlefield by Bheemasena and before he verifies the veracity of the information, he ends up killing 20,000 foot soldiers of the Paanchaala Desha. This forces the Maharishi team to compel Guru Dhronachaarya to put down his weapons once and for all, as he is deemed ineligible to fight the war further. However, Guru Dhronachaarya wants to confirm this news with Yudishtra. Guru Dhronachaarya chooses Yudishtra for this as he knows that Yudishtra will always stand by “Dharma” and he can believe Yudishtra’s words blindly. However, as Guru Dhronachaarya comes towards Yudishtra, Bhagawan Krishna quickly makes a move and prepares Yudishtra to give an answer accordingly! We’ve witnessed Bhagawan Krishna explaining a beautiful aspect of “Dharma” wherein it is completely acceptable to utter a lie, given the greater interest of protecting “Dharma” at a larger scale. Accordingly, Yudishtra also prepares his mind for the same. 

Moving on, Yudishtra thinks within himself upon what Bhagawan Krishna has just said. He is firm on winning this war. He knows that if he gives it away at this point, the country will go into the wretched hands of Duryodhana and this would be a greater danger for everyone. Hence, it is in his hands now to protect the country and its people. This is the clarity in thought that Yudishtra has at all times! However, if Bhagawan would have asked Arjuna to execute this task, he would have backed away very easily! He will not understand such in-depth aspects of “Dharma” as Yudishtra does. Thus, we can clearly see here that Bhagawan Krishna makes His moves very cleverly! He knows who will do what! 

Now we’re at the most important juncture here – Guru Dhronachaarya approaches Yudishtra and asks him thus, “Oh my dear Yudishtra! People around me are talking about my son’s demise. Bheemasena is propagating aloud that he has killed my son, Ashwatthama! Is this information true? I’m coming all the way up to you to ask you this because I know that you are the only one who will be truthful with your answer! Now tell me – It’s the question of my life! Is my son Ashwatthama alive or dead?” Tears roll down Guru Dhronachaarya’s eyes as he asks this question to Yudishtra! His voice is clearly trembling! Upon seeing Guru Dhronachaarya’s state, even Yudishtra’s heart melts for a moment! His Guru is coming and asking him for a confirmation, even though he is in the enemy’s camp. Yudishtra thinks for a moment as to how he could lie so blatantly to his teacher, especially at this crucial juncture! However, Yudishtra firms himself up and decides to talk the truth, but in a different way! Yudishtra says thus, 

“Ashwatthama hataha! Kunjaraha!!”

So Yudishtra says thus, “Oh Guru Dhronachaarya! Ashwatthama is dead!” He says this in a louder voice so that Guru Dhronachaarya is able to hear this clearly! However, the next word “Kunjaraha” (Elephant) comes out of Yudishtra’s mouth with a much lower voice, so that Guru Dhronachaarya couldn’t hear it! Thus, in a way, Yudishtra talks the truth, but it ends up to be selectively heard by Guru Dhronachaarya! Thus, with this act, Yudishtra is devoid of the “Adharma” of telling a lie and at the same time, he ensures that Guru Dhronachaarya gets the message that he has to obtain! At the same time, as Yudishtra utters the Shabdha of “Kunjaraha”, everybody around him started blowing their “Shankams’ aloud! This coincides with the “Kunjaraha” sound and it gets completely drowned out! 

As Yudishtra commits such an act, his chariot lands on the ground for the first time! Till this moment, Yudishtra’s chariot was always floating and moving a few inches above the ground level. However, as Yudishtra utters these words, his chariot lands on the ground with a “bang” sound! This was a huge test for Yudishtra’s “Dharma”! Bhagawan Krishna is seeing this happening from a distance and He motivates Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Do not worry! You will not be feigned for this! You’ve clearly passed the test of “Dharma” and you are safe! If you hadn’t done what I told you, you would have been in great danger by now!”  

Thus, as Yudishtra’s words of “half-truth” goes into Guru Dhronachaarya’s ears, his heart stops beating for a minute! Now the news is confirmed – He thinks! Ashwatthama is no more – He concludes! Yudishtra’s words cannot be dual – He knows! Thus, Guru Dhronachaarya is now going to put down his weapons permanently! However, he is still momentously fighting with a few of them who come opposite to him. But this fight is very meagre and is not up to the valour and rigour that we know of! Guru Dhronachaarya has this heavy feeling at the back of his mind that there’s no purpose of living this life anymore when his son is dead! 

So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall wait till the next episode to witness what happens to Guru Dhronachaarya next! Stay tuned!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Guru Dhronachaarya’s gross “Adharmic” act of killing around 20,000 foot soldiers of the Paanchaala Desha, which invited the ire of several great Maharishis. We’ve seen all of them assembling as a team in front of Guru Dhronachaarya amidst the battlefield. Guru Dhronachaarya, being a Brahmana, is not supposed to enter a battlefield at all to fight. Fighting is the duty of the Kshatryas, and this itself is a gross “Adharma”. Secondly, killing foot soldiers with an “Asthra” is even more a gross “Adharma” because the right way to take them on is only through simple arrows. This is as per the “Raaja-Dharma” and the “Yuddha-Dharma”. Of course Guru Dhronachaarya knows all of these, but because of the news that he has lost his son, Guru Dhronachaarya loses his mind and calmness! Out of sheer anger and grief, Guru Dhronachaarya commits such a heinous crime and because of this, the Maharishi team has demanded Guru Dhronachaarya to put down his weapons immediately then and there, as he is deemed unfit to fight the war further! 

Now as the Maharishi team demands thus, Guru Dhronachaarya is clearly caught into a “Catch-22” situation. On one hand, he cannot disobey the words of Maharishis, which might invoke severe repercussions into the future. On the other hand, Guru Dhronachaarya’s mind is bubbling with grief as he seeks to avenge the death of his son. Now which path should he choose? Should he continue fighting or should he put down his weapons, obeying the Maharishis? Now, recouping himself, Guru Dhronachaarya wants to first confirm whether this news (from Bheemasena0 that his son has been killed is true or not. For this, he decides to ask Yudishtra for a confirmation. Guru Dhronachaarya wants to confirm this with Yudishtra because he knows that Yudishtra will always stand by “Dharma” and will not tell a lie. Whereas, others may not be trustable because they might be opportunistic in their answer. Guru Dhronachaarya did not even want to trust his own Kaurava army for which he fought. Even though Yudishtra is in the enemy camp, he wanted to go to Yudishtra for confirmation. This shows how much trust Guru Dhronachaarya has over Yudishtra as a person. 

Thinking thus, Guru Dhronachaarya starts his chariot and slowly makes a move towards Yudishtra. Meanwhile, Bhagawan Krishna hurries towards Yudishtra and asks him thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Guru Dhronachaarya is coming towards you to ask about his son Ashwathhama. What are you going to tell him?” For this, Yudishtra replies back – “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! You know what I will reply – I’ll always tell the truth! I’ll always stand by “Dharma”!” As Bhagawan hears this, He gives a funny reply to Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You keep telling the truth! I’ll see how you’ll win this war! :)” These words of Bhagawan Krishna have a huge in-depth meaning! Now saying thus, Bhagawan Krishna is going to explain a beautiful “Dharma” here. He continues to tell Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You’re not understanding a fact here – If Guru Dhronachaarya is going to continue his rampage for another half a day, he is going to destroy you and your entire army! If he succeeds in doing that, all the efforts that we’ve taken till now will go in vain! You know very well – Guru Dhronachaarya can single-handedly change the entire course of the war in Duryodhana’s favour, which Duryodhana also wants him to do. Now, this is a test for you – Is “Sathyam” (Being truthful) greater, or governance / protection of your people as a righteous king is greater? Oh Yudishtra! You have the duty to protect the lives of “Dhaarmikas” (People who follow the path of “Dharma”. For this, telling a lie is not an “Adharma”. It is very much permitted. Hence, in this situation, if you tell a lie to Guru Dhronachaarya, it will not be counted as an act of “Adharma”. You are telling this lie to a person who is grossly “Adharmic” in nature and also stands with the camp of “Adharma”! Hence, Oh Yudishtra! Do as I say – When Guru Dhronachaarya asks you about his son, tell him that his son is dead!”

Now this is a very important point which Bhagawan Krishna is talking about. Even in our everyday routine life, we would have heard this – If a person’s life has to be saved, it is fine to tell a lie or mar the truth from him / her. For instance, if there’s a heart patient and has undergone a huge open-heart surgery recently, can we go and convey a bad news of someone’s demise to him at this point? It might be the truth, but if we utter this to him, his life will also come to an end, isn’t it? Hence, “Dharma” is not just telling the truth alone – We need to understand to whom and where we are conveying the truth. Even if we’ve to utter a lie for the sake of protection of “Dharma”, it is accepted. But of course, we shouldn’t misinterpret this and think that we can manipulate things every time! 🙂 

So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall witness whether Yudishtra accepts Bhagawan Krishna’s proposal or not! Stay tuned!

We’re at an extremely important juncture of Day Fifteen wherein Guru Dhronachaarya is at his fiery best on the battlefield at Kurukshetra. Right from the word “Go”, he is on a rampage mode and is virtually unstoppable by anybody, including Arjuna. Hence, to combat this huge onslaught, Bhagawan Krishna thinks of an “out of the box” strategy and calls Bheemasena towards Him. With His impeccable eye-to-eye sign language, Bhagawan Krishna makes Bheemasena kill an elephant by name “Ashwatthaama”. After this, Bhagawan Krishna asks Bheemasena to go to the vicinity of Guru Dhronachaarya and shout that he has killed Ashwatthama. Incidentally, since Ashwatthama is also the name of Guru Dhronachaarya’s son, this sends shock waves to Guru Dhronachaarya, as he puts down his weapons and sits on his chariot then and there. Unable to believe Bheemasena’s words, Guru Dhronachaarya now does a gross “Adharmic” act by sending in a powerful “Asthra” that kills around 20,000 foot soldiers of the Paanchaala Desha. This act of Guru Dhronachaarya comes because of his immense anger and frustration that his son is no more! 

Even though Guru Dhronachaarya doesn’t believe that Bheemasena could have overpowered his son, he had no other option at that point in time. With this immense grief and frustration, Guru Dhronachaarya commits this gross “Adharma”. Now we might be confused here as to what was so “Adharmic” in Guru Dhronachaarya’s act. We should understand here that if a warrior is employing an “Asthra”, it should be done only against those who have some knowledge about it. The opponent may or may not be able to neutralize that “Asthra”. This is different. But, the “Asthra” should not be employed on foot soldiers, who do not know anything about it. All that they know about is a mere arrow coming from a bow, and a few other weapons like swords, armours, etc. However, these innocent soldiers will be completely unaware of powerful “Asthras” as they aren’t employed normally upon them. Hence, if a powerful “Asthra” is employed upon innocent foot soldiers, it is a gross “Adharma” that a Kshatrya warrior commits and such acts are to be avoided. However, in this case, Guru Dhronachaarya, out of sheer anger and frustration of “losing” his son, employs this powerful “Asthra” upon 20,000 innocent foot soldiers, which is a gross act of “Adharma”. Moreover, is Guru Dhronachaarya a Kshatrya warrior? The answer is “No”! He is a Brahmana. He is not supposed to be on the battlefield at all and fighting wars is not his job. This is yet another huge “Adharma” that he is doing! 

As this is happening at the Kurukshetra battlefield, the wind starts to blow in a very unusual fashion. Bhagawan Surya dims his light and he doesn’t want to shine bright as usual. All these happen because of this gross “Adharma” of mass killing by a Brahmana. At this juncture, several great Maharishis assemble at the Kurukshetra battlefield. Notable Maharishis who come here are Sage Vishwamitra, Sage Jamadagni, Sage Kashyapa, Sage Bharadwaja, Sage Vasishtachaarya and Sage Gautama. All these people are well-known for their extreme and intense “Tapas”. Thus, all of them assemble in the Kurukshetra battlefield in front of Guru Dhronachaarya. Now all of them ask Guru Dhronachaarya in unison thus, “Oh Guru Dhronachaarya! Are you even fit to be called as a Brahmana, after the heinous crime that you’ve committed just now? Do you even realize the level of “Adharma” that you’ve committed just now?” 

As this happens, Guru Dhronachaarya breaks down then and there! Till now we’ve seen a strong man in Guru Dhronachaarya and we’ve never seen his eyes in tears! Now, Guru Dhronachaarya asks the Maharishis back thus, “Oh great Maharishis! I know I’ve committed this gross “Adharma” and I shouldn’t have done this! However, what other options do I have? My son Ashwatthama is dead! I cannot believe that such a thing has happened, and that too from a person like Bheemasena. How can Bheemasena even think of killing my son in his wildest dreams? My mind refuses to accept this message!” As Guru Dhronachaarya says thus, he weeps bitterly. But this is not going to unfaze the Maharishi team. They again reply to him thus, “Oh Dhronachaarya! It is not the question about whether your son is killed or not. On the battlefield, anything might happen. If you’re unable to bare the separation of your son from you, at that moment itself you’ve become unfit to fight the war any further! Oh Dhronachaarya! Even though you might have taken the weapon in hand and have come to a battlefield as a “Kshatrya”, you’ve proved your “Brahmana” side of yours. Only a “Brahmana” can have the “Putra-Shokham”. A “Kshatrya” is not supposed to have it. Hence, from this moment onwards, you are ineligible to fight the war any further! So please put down all your weapons!” 

Now this is a very important phase here – On one hand, Guru Dhronachaarya has to obey the words of the Maharishi team and has to put down the weapons. If he continues fighting henceforth, it would become a gross disobedience to the Maharishis’ words. However, Guru Dhronachaarya is unable to digest the message that his son has been killed. His mind wants to somehow avenge the killer of his son. Thus, this is a clear “Catch-22” situation for Guru Dhronachaarya here! So what does Guru Dhronachaarya do from here on? Is he going to put down his weapons once and for all? Or, is he going to continue avenging his enemies? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned!

We’re at an important juncture on Day Fifteen of the Kurukshetra battle wherein Guru Dhronachaarya is on an unprecedented aggression. He swirls and puts up an intense fight wherein he had killed King Virat and King Drupada within the morning session itself. Alarmed by Guru Dhronachaarya’s onslaught, Arjuna comes into the scene and launches a blistering counterattack. However, Guru Dhronachaarya on the fifteenth day is an entirely different person to take on! With several “Asthras”, Guru Dhronachaarya puts Arjuna on the mat, even as he struggles to counter Guru Dhronachaarya’s renewed aggression. Upon seeing this, Bhagawan Krishna thinks of a different strategy to counter Guru Dhronachaarya. As He proposes to Arjuna, His plan of killing Ashwatthama (Guru Dhronachaarya’s son) and subsequently making Guru Dhronachaarya put down his weapons and then killing him, Arjuna is not happy with this. He refuses to take part in this strategy because he feels that this is gross “Adharma” while a person is being killed when he is weaponless. 

Subsequently, Bhagawan Krishna understands that Arjuna is not going to cooperate even after several rounds of convincing and He straightaway decides to hand over the assignment to Bheemasena, who is standing nearby. As Bhagawan Krishna casts a look at Bheemasena and subsequently at a big elephant nearby, Bheemasena understands this “sign language”. Hence Bheemasena quickly enquires about that elephant – This elephant has come from the Maalava Desha, under the leadership of King Indra Varma. The sign language of Bhagawan Krishna indicates Bheemasena to know more about this particular elephant. As Bheemasena inquires with King Indra Varma, he comes to know that the name of this elephant is “Ashwatthama”. Now Bheemasena understands the ploy! He immediately takes his “Gadha”, swirls it around and throws it accurately on the trunk of the “Ashwatthama” elephant. Unable to bear the intensity of Bheemasena’s “Gadha”, elephant Ashwatthama gets very badly injured and finally falls down on the ground, dead. Upon seeing elephant Ashwatthama dead in front of him, Bheemasena proclaims loudly thus, 

“Ashwatthama hataha kunjaraha!!” 

Here, “Kunjara” means elephant. Bheemasena is loudly proclaiming that the elephant by name “Ashwatthama” has died! Upon hearing this, Bhagawan Krishna quickly intervenes and says thus, “Oh Bheemasena! Why are you loudly shouting here? I already know that elephant Ashwatthama is no more. Go and shout where it is required!” There is a clear message from Bhagawan Krishna here! Understanding it quickly, Bheemasena quickly steers his chariot to the vicinity of Guru Dhronachaarya, where the fight is going on at an extremely intense level. Guru Dhronachaarya is exhibiting his complete prowess in front of the Paandava army, which is scampering around for shelter! Thus, at a crucial time, Bheemasena reaches Guru Dhronachaarya’s vicinity and shouts there thus, 

“Ashwatthaama hataha!!!”

While shouting thus, Bheemasena doesn’t mention the word “Kunjaraha” here. He only says that “Ashwatthama is dead and I’ve killed him!” Upon hearing this, Guru Dhronachaarya couldn’t believe his ears! His body starts to tremble and puts down his weapons for a moment. He sits down on his chariot then and there, completely stunned! Guru Dhronachaarya thinks within himself thus, “Oh! Is Bheemasena telling the truth? Afterall, can Ashwatthama be killed by this Bheemasena so easily? Is this even possible? I know my son’s unending prowess. He is not someone who can be easily killed by anyone in this world. If such is the case, how come Bheemasena has killed him? I refuse to believe this! I think I need someone else to confirm this news!” 

Thinking thus, a pained Guru Dhronachaarya once again stands up from his chariot and regains his strength. He thinks within himself thus, “Let a confirmation from someone else come in. Till that point I shall continue my fight. I do not think Ashwatthama is dead. He is still there somewhere fighting the war!” Thinking thus, Guru Dhronachaarya’s anger multiplies to a huge unprecedented level! He takes a very powerful “Asthra” in his hand, locks it in his bow and employs it on the soldiers of the “Paanchaala Desha”. They are around 20,000 in number! Thus, with Guru Dhronachaarya’s great fury, and with the power of the “Asthra” that he has employed, all the 20,000 foot soldiers of the Paancahaala Desha die on the spot! Now this act of Guru Dhronachaarya is a gross “Adharma”! He did this because of the anger that someone has killed his son! So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, I shall explain why this act of Guru Dhronachaarya was an act of “Adharma”! Stay tuned for an important accord!

In the previous episode, we had commenced with the proceedings of Day Fifteen of the Kurukshetra war wherein all the warriors were back on their feet after a long night of fighting. They had rested for a while on their chariots themselves on the battlefield, and after daybreak, the fight continued further. Now as Duryodhana comes up with a weird plan to somehow “sideline” Guru Dhronachaarya, the latter becomes extremely aggressive right from the beginning of the fifteenth day morning. His onslaught knows no bounds as he is taking the fight to an entirely different level altogether. This sends shockwaves and shivers amidst the Paandava camp. In the morning session itself, two important people from the Paandava camp have been killed – Firstly King Drupada, with whom Guru Dhronachaarya had a feud for ages now, and King Virat, who had given refuge to Yudishtra and Co. during their “Agnyaatavasam” time. 

Moving on further thus, as chaos reigns amidst the Paandava camp, Arjuna enters into the scene with a blistering counterattack! A huge fight breaks out between Guru Dhronachaarya and Arjuna and it continues with great intensity for a long time. However, both of them could not win over each other, yet again! However, to avenge Guru Dhronachaarya’s assault over King Drupada and King Virat, Arjuna unleashes his fury to kill several of Duryodhana’s brothers on the spot! Now as this happens, Guru Dhronachaarya is going to do an important act of “Adharma”, which is something that we are going to witness in a short while from now. But before that, Arjuna is asking Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! I don’t think we’ll be able to stop Guru Dhronachaarya’s aggression today, as he is fighting like never before! I’ve seen Guru Dhronachaarya’s intensity on a battlefield, but today he seems to be in an unprecedented form! If this continues for a while, our camp will be destroyed in no time! So what do we do here? How do we counter Guru Dhronachaarya’s renewed aggression?” This question from Arjuna is very important and it makes Bhagawan Krishna think for a while. He replies to Arjuna after a few minutes thus, “Oh Arjuna! Let us do one thing – Do you remember Guru Dhronachaarya’s words of assurance to Yudishtra during the start of the war on Day One? He had said to Yudishtra that nobody can win over him in a direct confrontation. However, if he has to put down his weapons, he should listen to the news that someone very dear to him has died, and this news should come from a trustable person, who is also near and dear to him. Now, our target should be Ashwatthama. He is Guru Dhronachaarya’s son. If Ashwatthama is killed in the war, Guru Dhronachaarya will be shocked! This news of Ashwatthama’s death should go via Yudishtra to him. We know that Yudishtra is very near and dear to Guru Dhronachaarya and hence, if Yudishtra conveys this to him, Guru Dhronachaarya will put down his weapons and you can kill him!” 

Upon hearing this from Bhagawan Krishna, Arjuna is shocked! He immediately replies thus, “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! I’m not coming for this game! I cannot kill someone who doesn’t have weapons in his hand. This is against the “Raaja-Dharma”. I shall never do this. Oh Bhagawan! You’re asking me to do something unethical here! How come you’re saying such things? I’m sure even Yudishtra wouldn’t accept this idea!” As Arjuna replies quickly without thinking anything, Bhagawan heaves a huge sigh! Now He has to explain to Arjuna once again the whole “Sookshama” of the Karna Yoga! He had done this earlier during the Bhagawad Gita sessions, but now it seems that He has to do it yet again! 🙂 However, Bhagawan Krishna keeps it very short. He explains to Arjuna that this is an inevitable thing that has to be done, and there’s no other option left. If Guru Dhronachaarya has to be neutralized, we’ve to “connect the dots” and do as per his own words only. When he himself has clearly outlined the strategy of being defeated, what more does Arjuna want? It’s better to follow it rather than raising questions. Moreover, if “Dharma” has to be protected, there might be certain situations wherein we’ve to go out of the way and do a few things. The question here is not fighting and winning over Guru Dhronachaarya as per the path of “Dharma”. The bigger purpose here is to protect the “Dharma” of the entire world! If Guru Dhronachaarya is not killed today, he is going to pose a great danger in restoring “Dharma” in this world. Hence, Bhagawan Krishna clearly outlines to Arjuna that the bigger picture is more important at this stage, rather than looking into the path through which we’re achieving the purpose! 

Explaining to Arjuna thus, Bhagawan Krishna looks at Bheemasena on and off. He knows that Arjuna is not convinced with His explanation and there’s not much time left to once again convince Arjuna right now. Hence, Bhagawan Krishna decides that He has to look at other options beyond Arjuna. Thus, He narrows down on Bheemasena to do the job! So what is Bheemasena and Bhagawan Krishna going to do? How are they going to strategize against Guru Dhronachaarya? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the fifteenth day proceedings at Kurukshetra. Also, we are progressing towards the end of the “Dhrona-Parva” wherein we have commenced the last Upa-Parva called “Dhrona-Vadha Parva”. In a nutshell, here is where we’re going to witness how Guru Dhronachaarya is going to be killed on the battlefield. But before that, we’ve witnessed yet another round of Duryodhana’s taunt towards Guru Dhronachaarya. Out of sheer frustration of systematically being on the losing side and upon seeing all his peers sacrificing their lives on the battlefield, Duryodhana vents out that Guru Dhronachaarya is not doing enough to contain the Paandavas. Hence, Duryodhana comes out with a weird idea of splitting the Kaurava army into three divisions, one led by Guru Dhronachaarya, the other two led by Karna and Ducchaasana. As Duryodhana comes uo with this proposal, Guru Dhronachaarya is deeply pained and angered. 

Moving on further, Guru Dhronachaarya is now going to give a befitting and an angered reply to Duryodhana. He says thus, “Oh Duryodhana! If your mind wants this to happen and if your intent is this, please go ahead! However, what you’re trying to do is something awful and foolish! You want to trust Karna more than me? When I’m already there as a leader, you are trying to bypass and create several new hierarchies within the army. Is this the way you fight an important battle? If your “Buddhi” (Intellect) says thus, please go ahead and do it! I do not have any objection. Go ahead with your brother Ducchaasana, friend Karna and uncle Sahuni and start fighting. May you taste victory soon!” These words come out of a pained Guru Dhronachaarya’s mouth. Thus, even though he says “May you taste victory soon”, Guru Dhronachaarya internally knows that Duryodhana is never going to taste victory in this war! Even then, just to keep the positivity going amidst the camp, Guru Dhronachaarya blesses Duryodhana with victory. 

Thus with this, the fifteenth day war commences. Today’s proceedings revolve completely around how Guru Dhronachaarya fights the war. As expected, Duryodhana’s words have fuelled him beyond any extent and this shows in the way how Guru Dhronachaarya is fighting! He is at his fiery best and is running a complete rampage! A huge section of the Paandava army comes under Guru Dhronachaarya’s unbreakable siege and eventually gets destroyed! As Guru Dhronachaarya’s rampage continues further, Yudishtra sends King Drupada in defence. Readers might remember this – There is a several-year feud that is going on between King Drupada and Guru Dhronachaarya. We might remember from our earlier episodes that King Drupada insulted Guru Dhronachaarya and from that moment, both of them are bitter enemies, wanting to have a go at each other for a long time now. In fact, King Drupada tried his luck earlier, but he was defeated by Arjuna and Co. when they were children. The Paandava children had besieged King Drupada and brought him as a captive to Guru Dhronachaarya, who in turn abused and insulted King Drupada. Unable to bare this insult, King Drupada performed a “Yagna” to obtain a male child, who will be able to kill Guru Dhronachaarya, and this child is none other than Drishtadhyumna! He’s also somewhere in the battlefield only, fighting the war in a different direction. 

Now, recollecting this past feud, Guru Dhronachaarya and King Drupada start a fierce battle with each other. The fury with which Guru Dhronachaarya is fighting the war on this fifteenth day, is too much to handle for King Drupada, who finally has to succumb to Guru Dhronachaarya’s intense fury! Thus, after a prolonged battle, Guru Dhronachaarya manages to kill King Drupada and the several-decade feud between the duo comes to an end! Thus, within the first half of the fifteenth day, Guru Dhronachaarya manages to kill King Drupada! With this, the Paandavas have lost their father-in-law in this war! We’ve to remember that Draupati is the daughter of King Drupada. As King Drupada was performing the “Yagnya”, he also obtained a daughter (Yaagnyaseni) along with Drishtadhyumna. This Yaagnyaseni is none other than Draupati, who is the wife of Yudishtra and Co. Thus, the fifteenth day is not a very good outing for the Paandavas as they have lost a mainstream warrior in King Drupada. 

Next in the firing line for Guru Dhronachaarya is the king of Viraata Desha. Raiders might again remember that during the “Agnyaatavasam” time period, the Paandavas were hiding in the Viraata Desha and King Virat had given them asylum. A fierce battle ensues between both of them and at the end, King Virat is killed by Guru Dhronachaarya! His rampage is unprecedented on the fifteenth day, and he is on a killing spree too! Whoever comes in front of Guru Dhronachaarya on the fifteenth day, meets the same fate, which leaves the Paandava army in a complete state of shock and chaos! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion forward in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we witnessed an interesting conversation that happened between Bhagawan Krishna and Saatyaki. The content of the discussion was however the same – Why did Karna not employ the “Shakti-Aayudham” upon Arjuna for all these days? What made him reluctant to pick up a fight with Arjuna and why didn’t he use this powerful weapon then and there? For this, Bhagawan Krishna reveals yet another important secret to Saatyaki that it was His divine “Anugraha” upon Arjuna, which made Karna “forget” that he was possessing the “Shakti Aayudham” with him. In other words, from the eleventh day, all the way till the fourteenth, Karna wasn’t even aware that he had a powerful weapon with him, with which he could neutralize Arjuna within just a few minutes! Had he done so, the war would have been completed on the eleventh day itself wherein Arjuna would have died and Yudishtra might have been captured alive by Duryodhana. However, since this war is happening for the cause of “Dharma”, Bhagawan Krishna is playing an active role in this, not by fighting the war, but doing a lot of “background work” like this. 

Moving on further thus, we come to the end of the “Ghatodgaja-Vadha Parva”. Now we are going to enter into the next “Upa-Parva” of the main “Dhrona Parva”, which is called “Dhrona-Vadha Parva”. As the name suggests, here is where Guru Dhronachaarya is going to be killed finally. Let us see what happens. Coming back to the war scene at Kurukshetra, we are currently in the night time of the fourteenth day. After Ghatodgaja was killed by Karna’s “Shakti-Aayudham”, the entire camp on both sides was tired and exhausted. Hence, Arjuna makes an announcement thus, “Oh Paandava and Kaurava camps! It is already late into the night and within the next few hours, we are going to witness the daybreak of tomorrow. We should continue the war tomorrow as well, during the daytime and hence, for now let us stop fighting and let us rest wherever we are right now. If we are on chariots, let us sleep in our chariot itself. If we are on top of animals, let us rest then and there. If we are soldiers on the ground, let us lie down on the ground then and there. Let us not waste time marching back all the way to our tents!” 

The moment Arjuna says this, everybody in both the camps are very happy and satisfied! In this one aspect, both the Paandava and Kaurava camps come together! If it is sleep and food, we will also forget everything won’t we? If we’re extremely tired, we will just fall asleep wherever we are, irrespective of whether we are at an enemy’s place. If we’re extremely hungry at the same time, even if an enemy gives us food, we would only think of satisfying our hunger more than anything else. Thus, it doesn’t matter whether we are at a friend’s or at an enemy’s place if we’re overpowered by tiredness and hunger, isn’t it? This is exactly the same situation that unfolds at the Kurukshetra battlefield as well. Thus, both the camps fall asleep for a while wherever they are, and there is a pin-drop silence everywhere. 

Next morning when people wake up, Duryodhana is feeling extremely sad. He is feeling the pinch now after fourteen long days wherein all his people around him are passing away every day. With this agitated mindset, he straight goes to Guru Dhronachaarya and says thus, “Oh Guru Dhronachaarya! You’ve been leading our forces for quite a while now, yet, there is no victory in sight for us till this moment. Hence I’m planning to do one thing – I’m going to split our forces into three – You lead one division of the forces and start fighting. Meanwhile, I shall ask my brother Ducchaasna and my friend Karna to lead the other two divisions. I shall go along with both of them here and there and fight. Ultimately if we do this, we might be able to win over Arjuna!” 

As Duryodhana says thus, Guru Dhronachaarya becomes extremely unhappy! He is deeply pained at the way in which Duryodhana is insulting him time and again. This is not the first time that Duryodhana is saying such pin-pricking words. Hence, deeply pained by Duryodhana’s words of splitting the camp into several divisions and posing repeated questions on his leadership and style, Guru Dhronachaarya is now going to take an important pledge in front of Duryodhana now. Readers should remember that we’re at the commencement of the fifteenth day of the Kurukshetra war where this conversation is happening between the duo early in the morning. So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue with Guru Dhronachaarya’s pledge and what is going to happen subsequently after that! Stay tuned! 🙂